Mark Connolly:
Future of NH built on pillars of education & innovation

Mark believes strongly that the future of New Hampshire must be built on the pillars of education, innovation, and job creation.

Growing up in Bedford, Mark and his brother were raised by a single mom who worked as a secretary. With money tight, the
family moved often. Mark and his brother struggled to adapt to constantly changing schools, but in seventh grade a very special teacher transformed his life, taking the time to help Mark find success academically, a path that would lead to
Dartmouth College and an MBA earned at night from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Throughout these experiences of making a life in New Hampshire, Mark has come to believe individual hard work and determination are crucial
to success, but we all need a helping hand. Support and opportunity offered by neighbors and community, good schools, and a strong economy are vital to helping every Granite Stater achieve his or her dreams.

Bernie Sanders:
Tax Wall Street and make public universities free

My proposal is to put a speculation tax on wall street, raise very substantial sums of money, not only make public colleges and universities tuition-free, but also substantially lower interest rates on student debt.
You have families out there paying 6 percent, 8 percent, 10 percent on student debt, refinance their homes at 3 percent.

Source: 2015 ABC/WMUR Democratic primary debate in N.H.
Dec 19, 2015

Hillary Clinton:
New College Compact: federal match for state investment

Q: What do you propose for the middle class?

CLINTON: There is a lot we can do in college affordability. I have debt-free tuition plans, free community college plans, getting student debt down.

Q: How does your plan differentiate from your
opponents'?

CLINTON: Well, I have what I call the New College Compact. Because I think everybody has to have some skin in this game, you know. #1: States have been dis-investing in higher education. States over a period of decades have put their money
elsewhere; into prisons, into highways, into things other than higher education. So under my compact, the federal government will match money that the states begin to put back in to the higher education system. #2: I don't believe in free tuition for
everybody. So I have proposed debt-free tuition, which I think is affordable and I would move a lot of the Pell Grant and other aid into the arena where it could be used for living expense.

Source: 2015 ABC/WMUR Democratic primary debate in N.H.
Dec 19, 2015

Martin O`Malley:
Income-based college loan repayment plan for all students

Q: Senator, you want free tuition for public colleges. Doesn't that just shift the cost to taxpayers?

SANDERS: We have some colleges and universities that are spending a huge amount of money on fancy dormitories and on giant football stadiums. Maybe
we should focus on quality education with well-paid faculty members [instead of] vice presidents who earn a big salary.

Q: Governor, how do you propose lowering some of these costs?

O'MALLEY: My plan actually goes further than Senator Sanders'
because a big chunk of the cost is actually room and board and books and fees. So as a nation we need to increase what we invest in Pell grants. Yes, we need to make it easier for parents to refinance. I propose a block grant program that will keep the
states in the game as well. I believe that all of our kids should go into an income-based repayment plan. There're families all across America who aren't able to contribute to our economy because of this crushing student loan.

Source: 2015 ABC/WMUR Democratic primary debate in N.H.
Dec 19, 2015

Jon Lavoie:
No vouchers: children should go to school where the live

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Vouchers for school choice"?

Maggie Hassan:
$4 million more for scholarships; $35M for state colleges

Ever-rising tuition rates can force many families to avoid even considering New Hampshire's public colleges and universities. Our budget substantially restores the cuts made to our community college and university systems. The University System will
receive an increase of $20 million in 2014 with an additional increase of $15 million in 2015, bringing the system back to 90% of where it was before the cuts. And we have not only fully restored funding for the Community College System in the first
year, but added $3 million in the second.

In exchange, the leadership of both the community college and university systems have assured me they will go to their boards with a plan to freeze tuition for the next two years.

This budget includes
$4 million in UNIQUE funds to support need-based scholarships that can be used at both public and private colleges. New Hampshire's young people must be developing the skills, knowledge, and innovative thinking needed in a 21st century economy.

This budget protects our state's commitment to our public K-12 education system by fully funding the existing Adequacy formula. And in the second year of the biennium, this budget fully funds the building aid formula and increases catastrophic aid and
tuition & transportation assistance to local schools.

In addition, this budget will help encourage innovation by providing funding to allow new charter schools to open and to allow existing charter schools to accept new enrollees.

At the same time, these charter schools have a responsibility to live within their budget, and so this budget sets new parameters and provides authority for the Department of Education to prioritize new charter school approval to underserved communities.

To help pay for these investments, this budget repeals the voucher tax credit that would have diverted millions of dollars in taxpayer money to private and religious schools with no accountability.

Source: 2013 State of the State N.H. Budget Address
Feb 14, 2013

Maggie Hassan:
Our public schools are essential to best-trained workforce

Recently, Maggie unveiled the first part of her "Innovate NH" jobs plan: "Our public schools are and should be drivers of economic growth for our state," said Maggie. "Our colleges and universities are inventing new ideas and new technologies that could
launch new companies and new jobs. They offer the expertise that can help our existing companies innovate and thrive. And our public schools are essential to ensuring New Hampshire has the best-trained workforce in the nation."

John Lynch:
Ensure every child the opportunity for a great education

I am working to make sure every child in N.H. has the opportunity for a great education. I am also working to increase New Hampshire’s high school graduation rate, by increasing the compulsory attendance age from 16 to 18, and expanding alternative
learning programs. I am proud that we started a new scholarship program for students at the University System and froze tuition this year at the community technical colleges. I am committed to continuing to work to make higher education more affordable.